Miss Rose

I originally suggested poses that I know typically suit my body shape but this taught me that everyone is unique and when photographing someone else, it is important to find poses that are flattering and comfortable for their own body shape, what works for one person may not transfer and work for another person.  Upon realising this, I changed my way of ‘posing’ Lucy and asked her to move in ways she found most comfortable. Some of the results interested me, for example, she was much more comfortable posing in heels if standing, even if I was only capturing a portrait image. I also found that poses where Lucy was laid on her back were very flattering and produced a particularly feminine shape, which is why I decided to focus on this kind of pose for several sets.

Working with Lucy in a professional photography studio taught me a lot about setting up my own lighting to my requirements and also working with natural light. I experimented with a wide range of styles from portraits, through to fashion, lingerie and “art-nude”. I really enjoyed being behind the camera and having that kind of creative collaboration where I explained my ideas and themes and Lucy also inputted her ideas in terms of pose and styling.

I found this quite an important step in my artistic journey, as it was the first time I intended to paint someone that I didn’t have any personal connection with. This became more of an academic exploration of techniques in both photography and painting, in effect this was a technical study. Whilst I could have produced this by finding an image on the Internet, it was important to my learning that I had control over every aspect of this production. Through this process, I have learnt that I can produce work of someone that I have no personal connection to, however the meaning behind the image becomes less personally important and I feel this shows in the final artwork. It was also less enjoyable than when I previously painted Sarah, as I had less of an emotional investment in the piece.